Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2011

1. Charisma Productions Gazette
Volume 3, Issue 12 December 2011
Tips for Your Upcoming Happy Holidays
Corporate Meeting or Event
A Must Read
From tHe CHarisma produCtions network
Maximizing Your ROI staFF
Charisma Productions Network
Company meetings held outside of the office can be great
motivational tools. An off-site meeting can really shake things
up and revitalize and reenergize your employees, building
team spirit and getting everyone’s creative juices flowing
again. A meeting “away from home” is often the best way to
generate new enthusiasm, new ideas, and a renewed
commitment to company goals.
However, an off-site meeting that is not well-planned or
carefully thought out beforehand can be a disaster. All it
takes is one bad course of Chicken Kiev or one botched trust-
building exercise. You don’t want the day to be memorable
for the wrong reasons.
To help your event run smoothly, please call Charisma
Productions Network your one stop solution for all of
your off-site corporate meeting and event needs.
Aim high. When planning an off-site meeting, people
usually set their expectations too low. Thinking about the day
strategically can make it more than just a simple bonding
experience; it can become an opportunity to solve office
problems, generate new ideas, and help employees grow.
Anchor the meeting with goals that actually mean something
to the business.
continued on page 2
Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Season, that very special time of year when we join with our
loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying
1 Tips For Your Upcoming Corporate Meeting to find a parking space at the mall. We traditionally do this in
my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a
or Event shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very
much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000
1 Happy Holidays years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to
a parking space.
2 Tips Continued
3 Ten Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
4 From Our Executive Chef Charisma Productions Network
5 From Our Executive Chef Continued Email: info@cpnevents.com
6 From Our IT Department 805-241-0566
7 Thank You
.

2. Continued from page 1
meeting. This will provide employees with an opportunity to
Pick a creative location. A ho-hum location will prepare ahead of time for full and constructive participation.
produce ho-hum results. The physical surroundings of your Where appropriate, give pre-meeting homework that
off-site meeting can make an enormous difference. Hotels employees need to bring to the meeting. It will also help to
and conference centers are great locations, but they’re not drum up excitement for the big day.
the only options. Some creative alternatives include movie
theaters, bowling alleys, sports arenas, museums, theme
parks, and other quirky venues. Think outside the box.
Take a tour before. When selecting your meeting site,
be sure to take a tour of the facility beforehand, including the
“back of the house.” Check for ample storage space for
supplies, secure areas for employees to put their belongings,
a sufficient number of clean restrooms, and good dining
facilities.
Don’t forget the fun. Just because this is a business
meeting, don’t neglect the recreational opportunities. Many
conference centers and hotels offer a wide range of physical
activities such as golf and tennis, as well as unique team-
building exercises. Build time into the day’s schedule to allow
employees to take advantage of these extras.
Add up the costs. Be sure to determine your budget
ahead of time. Expenses to consider: transportation, facility
rental, equipment rental, accommodations, catering, and
possibly the cost of hiring a guest speaker or entertainer
.
Bring the right equipment. Today’s meetings call for
more than just a few chairs and a flip chart. Attendees will
likely bring laptops to access and present computer-based
information, so you’ll need a means of projecting that
information. You should also consider beforehand whether
you’ll need high-speed Internet access in the meeting venue,
or if this is a time to be “off the grid.”
Pick two dates. When choosing a date for your off-site
meeting, keep at least two possible ones in mind — a
preferred date and an alternate one. When you start inFormative, inspiring
checking out available facilities, you’ll be able to choose the
best option based on the number of people who can attend.
Alternate dates also mean that you can negotiate a better
and empowering
price.
Create a detailed schedule. Work backwards from Let Charisma Productions Network
your event date to determine what needs to be done
beforehand, and when. Be conscious of production lead become your one-stop solution for all
time, shipping times for deliveries, and anything else that your corporate meeting, events and
need to be thought out before the meeting day.
conference needs.
Plan the day intelligently. Design your meeting day
schedule with care. Build in travel time to and from the site, For more information please contact
and set an agenda that honors that. Additionally, make sure
that all attendees have appropriate transportation to get to info@cpnevents.com or visit our website
the meeting on time. Decide up front whether you want the www.charismaproductionsnetwork.com
day to be a high-intensity working event, a laid-back and
relaxing retreat, or a balanced program combining a little of
each. If you do decide to mix work with play, carefully
consider which should come first.
Do advance PR. Circulate a pre-retreat agenda that lets
people know what your objectives are for the off-site
Thank You for All of Your Comments & Suggestions

3. Ten Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
1) Not Having a Clear Objective
I cannot stress this hard enough. If you don't have a clear objective of what you want to achieve from your offsite meeting and or
event it’s easy for anything to go astray. Be clear about what you want to achieve or you will end up wasting
everyone's time, energy and not mentioning, your company's money!
2) Choosing an Unsuitable Site
The venue chosen can make or break the event! When choosing the site, bear in mind what you want to achieve and
at the same time know what your budget will allow. Choose venues outside of your office location
3) Not Having Interesting Activities to Do
Too many "Free & Easy" slots in your itinerary can be too boring for the group. When it’s "Free & Easy" everyone may be doing
their own things - so where is the "bonding"? Organizing interesting activities can prove to be a challenge for some. Yes you
can't please everyone but it IS possible to have activities that everyone can enjoy. If you have a big group and would like to
organize lots of cool activities for the group - get an experienced team building facilitator or choose a venue that have tons of
interesting recreational activities for your group to do.
4) Having Too Many Activities to Do In a Day
On the opposite side of the spectrum - do NOT cram too many activities for your group to do in one day. Meetings
in the morning and team building are best done either half day or full day - don't squeeze in more games for them to do the next
day and at night! That will be too much for anyone to handle. Part of the plan is to get your team to relax - remember?
5) Not Choosing the Right Speaker for the Meeting
When organizing an Offsite Meeting, it’s great to invite a speaker that can motivate and inspire your team. Choose a lousy
speaker - and the whole event can fall flat. Choose one that is engaging and can get the crowd going - the idea is to empower
and inspire!
6) Organizing the Offsite Over the Weekend or Public Holiday
Having the Offsite over the weekend or public holiday can prove to be quite disastrous as resorts are normally crowded over the
weekends. Not mentioning the higher weekend rates for the use of accommodation and facilities. Always do your best not
to cut into your staff's rest day/weekend time with their families unless your team is a young crowd with no family commitments -
a lot of people may back out from going.
7) Not Getting Feedback from Your Team
After each Offsite Meeting - always gather feedback from your team. What did well and what not so well - how can you improve
on the next one. Not being able to follow through with what was discussed during the Offsite Meetings is also another "no-no".
The idea is for people to be able to work better together AFTER coming back from an Offsite retreats. So get to work and
implement those ideas, fast!
Charisma Productions Network
805-241-0566

4. From Our Executive Chef:
Happy Holidays
Roasted Rosemary Fillet of Beef with Pinot Noir
Sauce
Try something different this holiday season. Pinot Noir, with its hints of berry jam and black pepper, makes a
lusciously well-balanced sauce for this toothsome roasted fillet of beef.

5. From Our Executive Chef
Roasted Rosemary Fillet of Beef with Pinot Noir Sauce
Ingredients
• 1 (4-pound) oven-ready tied center-cut fillet of beef
• 2 tablespoon(s) fresh rosemary leaves
• 4 clove(s) garlic
• 1/4 cup(s) country-style Dijon mustard2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt
• 2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
Pinot Noir sauce:
• 1 cup(s) pinot noir or other dry red wine
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 cup(s) reduced-sodium beef broth
• 1 sprig(s) rosemary
• 1 tablespoon(s) tomato paste
• 2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter
• Freshly ground pepper
• Creamy polenta (optional), for serving
• Sautéed kale (optional), for serving
Directions
1. Remove beef from refrigerator 1 hour before roasting to bring it to room temperature. Heat oven to 500
degrees F and position a rack in center of oven. Finely chop rosemary and garlic together, and then stir in
mustard. Pat beef dry and season all over with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a heavy roasting pan across 2 stovetop burners over high heat until oil is simmering but not
smoking. Add beef to pan; sear 12 minutes, turning 5 times with tongs, until deeply browned. Transfer to a
piece of foil. Discard oil from pan and put roasting rack in pan. Place beef on rack and brush all over with
mustard mixture.
3. Place fillet in oven; reduce temperature to 450 degrees F. Roast about 25 to 30 minutes for rare, until an
instant-read thermometer registers 130 degrees F when inserted into center of fillet. (Check temperature after
about 20 minutes.) Transfer fillet to a cutting board and loosely tent with foil. Pour drippings from roasting
pan into a glass measure; discard fat and reserve drippings for sauce. Let fillet rest 15 minutes.
4. To make pinot noir sauce: Place roasting pan over 2 stovetop burners over medium-high heat, using an oven
mitt to hold edge of pan. Add wine to pan and bring to a boil, scraping bottom and sides of pan with a wooden
spoon. Add shallot; cook until wine is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Add broth and rosemary sprig; bring to a
boil. Whisk in tomato paste; lower heat and simmer 8 to 10 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened.
Remove rosemary sprig; swirl in butter until emulsified and season with pepper. Stir in reserved drippings
and any accumulated juices from cutting board.
5. Slice beef and serve with sauce, and creamy polenta and kale, if desired.
Charisma Productions 5

6. From Our IT Department
Outlook Tip: Send an Email to a
Traditional Mobile Device
Although many businesses use smart phones for their business communications, sometimes there is a need to send a
message to a partner or customer who uses a regular cell phone. You can do it right from Outlook if the recipient’s phone
supports SMS (short message service), which is a common feature for the majority of the phones available in the market.
All you need is the recipient’s email address. The major carriers usually assign an email address of user’s 10 digit phone
number at carrier domain name dot com, and you can use it to send short text messages to any cell phone. If you are not
sure what email domain to use, below are domains for the major US carriers.
Carrier Send Email to phone number@...
Alltel @message.alltel.com
AT&T @mms.att.net
Nextel @messaging.nextel.com
Sprint @messaging.sprintpcs.com
SunCom @tms.suncom.com
T-mobile @tmomail.net
Voice Stream @voicestream.net
@vtext.com (text only)
Verizon
@vzwpix.com (pictures and videos)
If the domain for your recipient’s carrier is not listed here, you may check on the carrier’s website or contact their customer
service.
Messages longer than 160 characters should be split into multiple messages of 160 characters each. If you know that your
recipient has a camera phone, you can send them .jpg files from Outlook and they will receive them as picture messages.
Also, note that the message recipient might be charged a per message fee for your incoming message.
Charisma Productions 6

7. Thank You for Your Support
We wish to thank our readers and our clients for their support and feedback helping to continually grow the Charisma
Productions Network. We look forward to another successful year in 2012 as we continue to grow and provide you
with successful stress-free events.
We appreciate hearing from all of you and strive to improve our articles and hope to have something for everyone at
one point or another. Please send us suggestions for topics you would like to read about or if you have an article that
you would like to share we’ll be happy to post it.:
Please send all comments to:
comments@cpnevents.com
Charisma Productions Network
805-241-0566
www.charismaproductionsnetwork.com
info@cpnevents.com
© Charisma Productions Network 2011, All Rights Reserved
Charisma Productions 7